She was married twice before Taylor Parker fell in love with Wade Griffin and faked being pregnant with his child.
In the wake of Netflix’s June 2026 documentary Mother Instinct, Us Weekly breaks down everything you need to know about Parker’s dating and marital history, what Griffin has revealed about their romance, and the details of the horrific crimes she committed while on death row.
Inside Taylor Parker and Donald Whiteside’s relationship
According to court documents seen by us, Parker was dating her boyfriend, Donald Whiteside, when she welcomed her first child, daughter Emersyn, at the age of 17.
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Not much is known about her romance with Whiteside. However, the couple broke up and she moved on with her first ex-husband, Tommy Wakesi.
Behind the scenes of Taylor Parker and Tommy Wakesi’s marriage
Parker married her first husband, Wakesi, in 2011. At the age of 21, she gave birth to her second child and first child with Wakesi, son Trey.
Trey had a complicated birth and Parker underwent tubal ligation to prevent her from having children in the future.
Two years later, she suffered an ectopic pregnancy and had to undergo surgery. According to KTAL News, during surgery, doctors discovered an ovarian cyst and scarring caused by endometriosis. Parker was under anesthesia at the time, so Wakesi gave doctors permission to perform a hysterectomy.
Parker’s uterus, cervix and one of her ovaries were removed, ensuring that she would not be able to conceive in the future.
The former couple separated in July 2017, and their divorce was finalized in March 2018.
After the breakup, Wakasey had custody of Trey and Parker had custody of Emersyn.
Behind the scenes of Taylor Parker and Hunter Parker’s marriage
Shortly after her divorce from Wakacie, Parker married her second husband, Hunter Parker. The two married in 2018, just 11 days after she formalized her divorce from Wakesey. Hunter and Taylor’s marriage didn’t last long, and they divorced in 2019, about a year into their marriage.
According to Oxygen, Hunter testified against Taylor during her trial, claiming that she did not tell Taylor that she was infertile until after they were married. He also said she claimed to have various medical issues and accused him of faking a seizure to stop him from leaving her.
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Hunter also claimed that Taylor tried to convince her to take out a loan and use a surrogate mother to conceive a biological child. She then allegedly offered her grandmother to pay for the surrogate mother in cash. Taylor said he arranged for a man named “Tim Hightower” to deliver the money, and later told Hunter that Hightower was in an accident while delivering the money and the money was stolen by emergency personnel.
Inside Taylor Parker and Wade Griffin’s relationship
Taylor met Griffin in the summer of 2019 after moving to rural Texas. The two quickly became a whirlwind and moved into Taylor’s home in the fall of 2019. A few months later, in January 2020, Taylor claimed she was pregnant.
According to KTAL News, Taylor reportedly asked Wakasey to take custody of Emma-Syn after claiming she was pregnant with her first child with Griffin.
The couple remained together until Taylor claimed to have murdered her pregnant friend, Reagan Simmons Hancock, cut out her baby and gave birth in October 2020.
At the time of her murder, Taylor was past her expected due date of September 22, 2020, and many in Griffin’s family expressed skepticism that she was pregnant.
During the trial, Griffin testified about his experience with Taylor, saying that Taylor went to great lengths to make him indispensable. “I love to eat,” he said on the stand, according to KTAL News.
Griffin texted Taylor what he wanted for dinner and explained that Taylor would check to see if the food was ready when he got home. Additionally, Griffin said Taylor helped care for livestock on the property, made ends meet and managed the household finances.
He also reflected on how she tricked him into believing her lies. “Some people may have said some things like that. I’m like, ‘Hey, what I’m saying is, she’s dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s on the medical paperwork, and it all makes sense to me,'” he said. “Maybe we just don’t see the big picture.”
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Taylor Parker convicted of murder in October 2022
After Taylor killed Simmons-Hancock, she claimed to police that she had given birth and was taken to the hospital. However, it didn’t take long for doctors to realize she wasn’t giving birth, and she was soon linked to Simmons Hancock’s death.
Two years after the horrific killings, Taylor was found guilty of capital murder and kidnapping in connection with the murders of Simmons Hancock and her child.
She was sentenced to death and is currently the youngest female death row inmate in Texas.
